You Can’t Give Up Everything!

“I have the Diabetes. It is in my knee….”

PP watches as Gregarious Utopian Woman examines her bent knee in the sauna, a worried frown on her lovely brown face under the plastic bagged head covering. “My friend. She go to Kaiser. They take the blood. Then Poof! She no more! I no go to Kaiser for my diabetes. They take the blood. I may not be. I take care of me. I ride the bike. I do the walking machine. I swim a little bit….”

GUW giggles shyly at PP and her friend, DL who are nodding in serious empathetic agreement. “I like your swimming,” she nods toward PP. “You are very fast.”

PP nods and explains how she uses the big long fins to speed down the lanes, while at the same time, still trying to absorb the fact that GUW isn’t getting any medical treatment for her diabetes. It’s highly worrisome. Though PP does understand her aversion and distrust of Kaiser. Lord knows, they’re not the best medical care. But aren’t they better than nothing? Isn’t untreated diabetes pretty serious? People lose limbs and such? Damn.

But GUW, though obviously worried herself, seems like she knows what she wants to do. And hell, if she wants to take care of her diabetes herself without Kaiser, then isn’t it her call?

“I give up the soda, I give up the chocolate, I give up the ice creams. But I still drink the sugar in the morning.” She makes a dramatic slurping sound, pretending she's holding an invisible cup to her pursed lips, like she’s sucking down coffee. Maybe she dumps a lot of sugar in her coffee and this is what she’s unwilling to give up? She’s given up everything else. You have to draw the line somewhere.

‘Yeah,” PP nods, “you can’t give up Everything!”
DL nods in agreement. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Yet, still PP wonders. Maybe she should say something alarming about how diabetes is really a serious disease and needs to be treated so that GUW will go to the doctor?

Or not. After all, Kaiser did kill her friend.


DL sits next to PP in the sauna, says something about how Kaiser isn’t really the best place to go if you’re sick. Which is often true as PP can attest time and time again, most recently with her Bug Bite/Staph Infection Fiasco experience.

But this isn’t diabetes. She’s not gonna die or lose a limb from goddamn bug bites. Though she did read in the paper how people die from staph infections. But Kaiser misdiagnosed this and she didn’t have staph and so again, it’s not diabetes.

What should PP do?

Not much she can do right?

She only hopes that GUW doesn’t show up in the pool with only a half a leg amputated at the knee.

Though she could still swim, right?
This is all that matters.

At least in PP’s book. But she doesn't have Diabetes nor is she in much danger of getting it. Well, unless she eats too many cookies, ice creams and candies.

Or, the sugary coffee?





PP's intrigued. Maybe when next she sees GUW she'll ask for more specifics about this concoction. It could be some delicious Ethiopian Beverage. Till then, she hopes that GUW gets some long fast fins and keeps on swimming. Swimming cures whatever ails you, right?

Well, better than Kaiser!